When it comes to growth, Franklin County is in some fast company.
The county's growth is the fastest in the state and among the fastest in the nation, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
From July 1, 2006, to July 1, 2007, the county added 3,440 people for an increase of 5.2 percent, according to census estimates. The county has added more than 20,000 people since the 2000 Census, for a current estimate of 69,578.
Relatively affordable housing, short commutes, a dry, sunny climate and a strong economy explain the growth in Franklin County, said Dean Schau, who studies the area's economy for the state Employment Security Department.
"So, give us your road-weary, your mortgage-poor, your huddled masses yearning for sun-filled days," Schau recently wrote in a report on the region.
Franklin County's 5.2 percent increase ranked 21st among counties and parishes nationwide. No other county in Washington cracked the nation's top 100.
"It's nice to know we're a place where people want to live and work and play -- and spend some of their tourist dollars too," said Councilman Matt Watkins, mayor pro tem for Pasco.
Franklin County's growth rate was a slight drop from the previous year, when it added 3,598 people. But the county's growth ranking climbed 10 places, up from 31st in the nation the previous year.
Franklin County's growth rate has been 4.2 percent or higher since 2001, when it had an estimated population of 50,863.
Pasco's expansion has accounted for the bulk of the growth in Franklin County over that time. The city's population ballooned from 33,010 in 2001 to 50,210 in 2007, according to state Office of Financial Management estimates.
Growth usually means local governments have to work to keep up with the increased demand for services. Watkins said he believes Pasco has been able to expand water, sewer and street systems and other services adequately during the growth phase.
Most of the growth has been residential, but commercial development is catching up, he said. The key to the future is for the city to attract industrial development, which will make the biggest impact on broadening the tax base to pay for future improvements, Watkins said.
Because most of the growth has been in Pasco, the county hasn't had as great a burden to expand infrastructure in the rural areas, said Bob Koch, Franklin County Commission chairman. The main area of increased demand on the county has been on the criminal justice system, he said.
"They're all working 110 percent," Koch said of the county's various departments.
"The prosecuting attorneys, they have not had any office growth in 14 years. They're just at their seams. ... We haven't had the revenue to add onto a building or rebuild a building. And the jail's the same way."
Koch said the county would benefit as Pasco increases its industrial development. The county is playing a role in increasing its tax base too with the anticipated operations of two new dairies and an egg farm, he said.
The biggest burden from population growth may fall to the school systems, Koch said. More households equates to greater need for classroom space, he said.
Pasco School District Superintendent Saundra Hill didn't return a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Elsewhere in the state, Mason County grew the second fastest, with a rate of 2.7 percent, and Douglas County was third, growing 2.6 percent, the Census Bureau reported.
In raw numbers, King County added the most people, 25,090, for a total population of 1.8 million, the most of any county in the state. King County's growth rate was 1.4 percent.
Washington barely remained the second most populous state in the West, ahead of Arizona. Washington added 93,514 residents in the year to reach 6.46 million.
w The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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